Fasteners for use in roofing and steel building construction currently include the ring shank self-sealing nail and the self-sealing hex head. Manufacturers of metal roofing panels recommend that the original self-sealing fasteners be replaced every five years. This replacement is necessary because the rubber seals used on the fasteners are damaged by the sun's UV rays in five years. In addition, snow falls and lands on the rooftop, and when the snow tries to slide off the roof it packs against the high profile heads of the existing screws and builds up, staying on the roof by hanging on the high profile hex head screw. The high profile screw heads cause the snow and ice to build up to a great weight before unloading, because the screw heads act like little dams, stopping the snow from unloading. Ice is caused when the heat from inside the home melts the underside of the snow load in the daytime and it then re-freezes each night. Once the weight of the snow and ice is too much for the fasteners to support, the snow breaks free and violently unloads from the roof. The friction caused by the ice tearing and ripping its way over the hex head screws as it unloads from the roof is exactly what destroys the fasteners. These forces are too great and the cause is the vertical walls and high profile caused by the hex head fasteners themselves.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,088 to Crull discloses an undercut, sealing threaded fastener for engagement with an internally threaded workpiece, and a method of forming the same as provided. The fastener comprises a driver head and a shank extending axially from an undersurface of the driver bead. The shank includes an intermediate unthreaded portion and a threaded portion defining a given thread form having a crest diameter and a given root diameter. An undercut groove is provided in the undersurface of the driver head, this undercut groove having an inner diameter no greater than the crest diameter of the internal or female thread, and preferably also no greater than the root diameter of the external thread, and an outer diameter greater than the crest diameter. An unthreaded shank portion is formed intermediate the threaded shank portion and the driver head and extends continuous with the inner diameter of the undercut groove. This unthreaded shank portion thus having an outer diameter no greater than the internal thread crest diameter and preferably not greater than the external thread root diameter. An annular sealing ring is engaged about the unthreaded shank portion and extends into the groove.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,464 to Dill, et al. teaches a screw for use with a washer as a sealing fastener having formations near the head of the screw to increase driving resistance when the portion having the formations reaches a surface into which the screw is being drilled. The screw includes a shank with a tip end and a head end. A head at the head end may be driven by a driving tool such as a pneumatic or electric drill. To facilitate retention of the washer the head has a flange that forms a recess. The shank has an enlarged portion near the head adjacent to the recess and the enlarged portion has ridges. The enlarged portion, including the ridges, increases the driving resistance of the screw. This increase in resistance gives notice to an operator of the driving tool that an appropriate driving depth and torque have been achieved. Preferably, the washer has an inner diameter surface with fully radiused projections. The projections assist in mounting the washer to the screw and keeping the washer appropriately positioned on the screw during driving of the screw.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,286 to Bogatz, et al., describes a headed fastener with a precisely calculated groove under the head to accommodate an O-ring sealing member as a self-sealing assembly for sealed engagement with a workpiece. The fastener has a head having a lower face, and a shank extends from the lower surface of the head. A groove is formed in the lower surface, the groove having an inner wall and an outer wall. The inner wall has a proximal end which is adjacent the lower surface of the head and which is disposed radially remotely from the shank. A sealing element, such as an O-ring, is disposed at least partially within the groove. The groove may be configured so that a distal end of the inner wall is near to the axis of the shank than is the proximal end of the inner wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,262 to Hargis discloses a weatherproof fastener having a shank and head, the latter formed with a recess in its lower surface. A gasket is positioned in the recess, which it partially fills until the screw is employed to joint two elements and the gasket is compressed so that it fills the entirety of the recess, thereby preventing the ingress of undesirable materials.
The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein.